Trigon Returns
by Xanderlike
Summary: Long before Raven, another half demon fought alongside fellow teenage heroes. Trigon won many battles against his dark heritage, but lost the war, corrupted his friends, and became the Demon Lord that Raven defeated to save her world. Unknowingly, she also restored her father's human self who now faces the challenge of atoning for the evil he's done. It won't be easy.
1. Chapter 1

Alive …

Terribly weak … sick to my stomach … frail in a way that I could not have _imagined_ before …

But I'm alive …

Something's wrong with my eyes … my vision is off … different. My hands … my skin … where is my blood red skin? This pale skin … this pale skin I have now … that was mine once before …

 _No!_

I do not _want_ to remember who I was before … I do not remember the life before I gave myself over to the heritage of my Demon Queen mother … I do not want to remember the past …

"But you must, my son."

Fragments of light with a sound of crystal chimes. An older man in armor. A Knight of the Last Light. My father …

"Raven has banished the evil Trigon … the Demon Lord you became after your mother's power conquered you-"

After I surrendered to it. After I gave in because I believed it to be the only way to save my friends … to save my world …

"But your mortal half- your human half- remained behind. You are no longer Trigon, the High Lord of Hell. Once more you are Trigon, the half-demon hero. Once more you are my son..."

"Hero, father? My crimes are too numerous to count. My sins are without end. I betrayed the woman I loved. I corrupted my friends. I destroyed my world. I tried to lure my daughter into the same evil path that destroyed me. I am beyond hope. I am beyond redemption. I am a monster without hope of salvation ..."

"And yet you live. Your conscience has returned to you. You are not what you were, my son. You cannot change the past. But the future remains to be written. Your friends have need of you. They live yet, tainted by the evil of your mother's power. You can help them. You can free them."

"Help them, Father? I can barely stand ..."

"Take my staff, my son. It will sustain you. It will nurture the light within you." The chimes grow a little sterner. "But know this: a choice lies upon you. You can take my staff and you can use your power to try to restore your friends. You can refuse it and live a mortal life to make what recompense for your sins you may in a mortal manner. But you will never forget the crimes you have committed or the lives you have taken. You will never know peace."

"I don't deserve peace, Father." I force myself to my feet. "And my friends don't deserve what I did to them. I'll take the staff."

Father lets go of the staff and it floats into my hand.

"I trained you to be a fighter, my son. I thought that would allow you to overcome your mother's evil. I was wrong. Your greatest strength was not your warrior's skill. It was your human heart. Love redeemed you."

"My daughter does not love me." It was a bitter taste in my mouth. Before … the other me … the Demon Lord … did not require love from Raven. He only wanted obedience. He only waited her to be the key to this world … now that I am what I was, more mortal than demon, I feel the sourness of lost opportunity. I should have been there for her … I should have been the one who raised her and given her the love and support she needed.

I hadn't.

No. Raven does not love me. I do not deserve her love. I have not earned it. And now I never can.

"Even as the Demon Lord, you still retained a degree of love for Arella. That love made the Demon Lord hesitate … and gave Arella the time she needed to escape to Azarath. If not for the love that remained in you, Raven would have been raised at the Demon Lord's side and been the dark daughter that he desired."

"Arella …" Her name burns my heart. It's written there forever. She had been one of us … my friend before she ever became my lover. A brave girl from another world … she had fought beside us with nothing but human skills, mortal courage. More, she had become our leader. The one person we would have followed to hell and back …

I had done my best to leave her there.

As for my friends … the rest of my friends … I had done something even worse.

I had tainted them with my evil. Infected them with darkness. And then- because Arella had escaped me- I sent them to plague her world.

Malchior … Malchior had always been a kind hearted, forgiving soul. He had every reason to hate humanity, but he had chosen to forgive them for killing his family, making him the last dragon of our world. He had shared my interest in magic.

And Arella.

He had every reason to hate me when Arella chose me over him, but he had remained my best friend. He had been the one who sent Arella away when I lost control of my magic … ensuring the safety of the woman we both loved.

I had darkened his heart, obliterated his memories, and then sent him across space and time to wreak havoc on Earth. He had begged me to kill him rather than make him a monster- but I laughed in his face and sent him on his mission of darkness.

Malchior, my oldest friend, my dearest friend … I am so terribly sorry for what I did to you.

Atlas was a robot, but he had the biggest heart of anyone I ever met. Designed and built to be an instrument of war, he had cared nothing for combat and only wanted to help people. He had tried to reason with me … tried to bring me back from the darkness I fell into … and I had _twisted_ him. I replaced his compassion with contempt for all organic life. I supplanted his humility with overwhelming pride in his superiority. And then I sent him off to become what he hated.

Mae-Eye … she had been beautiful and kind. The last of her people, she treasured children over all things. Time and again I had seen her risk her life in order to protect an innocent toddler or infant. She loved them all.

And so I made her a monster who feeds on children.

She had been my friend … they had all been my friends, and I had made them into dark reflections of themselves. I made them into what they hated. And I had laughed as I did it.

It's too much. It's all too much.

How can I find my friends? And if I do- if I find a way to lift the curse I placed upon them- how will they live with themselves? They will never forgive me- and that is right and just- but they will also never forgive _themselves_ for the crime of not being able to stop me...

"No … I can't be alive. I'm supposed to be gone. I can't face what I've done ..."

It's then I realize that Father and I are not alone.

There's a girl with us. A human girl. I have never met her, but I know her.

Terra.

Like myself, she had been released from the prison of her own making when Raven banished the evil of my Demon Lord self. She was flesh and blood once more … and forced to live with the consequences of her actions.

She's crying.

"All journeys start with a single step, my son. You have a great task ahead of you, but here is one small girl who needs someone to help her now. You say you are no longer a hero. Start by being a man again- a good man- and the rest will follow."

And with that, my father fades away.

I force myself to my feet with the aid of my staff and go to the girl. "Terra …"

She looks at me with fear in her eyes- I am used to fear, but this isn't fear _of_ me- this is fear _for_ me. "Stay away! I'm too dangerous! I could hurt you without meaning to!"

"It's all right, Terra. You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm a monster!"

"So am I." I smile at her. "Believe me, the things you have done are nothing compared to what I have done. We cannot change the past. We can only make a better future."

"I can't! I've done too much harm! I'm evil! I deserve to die!"

"No, Terra." I want to tell her that she's wrong, but I know she won't listen to me. Not now. "Dying is the easy way. It means not having to live with what we've done. We owe it to the world- to those we've hurt- to be better than that. Come with me. You're going to do something much harder than dying: you're going to learn to live with what you've done. We both are."

"Who are you?" Her eyes are still streaming tears.

"I'm a friend." I smile at the girl- she's about the age of Raven. "And someone else who has a lot to make up for." I offer her my hand. "Come, Terra. We've both spent too much time in the darkness. It's time we go back into the light."

And after a moment more, she takes my hand.

Together, we walk into the light of a new day.


	2. Chapter 2

It's amazing how much Tara's world- _Raven's_ world- like mine …

The way it used to be.

Before I _destroyed_ it …

No. I mustn't think about that. Raven threw the Darkness out of me, but it's still out there- still waiting for a chance to reclaim me. If I allow despair to overcome me, I am lost … and so is everyone else that I might care about.

My friends- Mae, Malchior, Atlas- are still alive. They all exist on this world and time. I just have to find them and then I can cleanse them from the Curse that I put upon them.

I do not expect forgiveness.

At this point, my main concern is not being killed by one of them before I have a chance to cleanse them all. Once that's done- once they are all free- then they are free to do what they will with me. I owe them that.

I am stronger now than I was when I woke, but my power is still far below what I wielded as the Demon Lord. I am not even as strong as I was as a young man. But each day I am a little stronger than I was the day before. Each day my power, the dark fires with me, grow a little more powerful.

Each day I am closer to rescuing my friends.

Before I can save them, I have to make sure that Tara is safe. Just in case I am no longer around to watch over her once they are redeemed.

Finding shelter- a profession- was not that difficult. This isn't the first time I wound up on an alien world without family or friends.

No. That's not totally true. I wasn't alone. I had Tara.

In the first few days following my rebirth- when I was barely able to stand- she was the one who found us food and shelter. She took care of me while I recovered my strength and magic. Without her, I might not have survived.

In time, things get better.

I find a bookstore- a rather _special_ bookstore- ran by an old man who was only too willing to hire me as his assistant once I demonstrate my facility with language and familiarity with the magical texts that he possesses. There's a small apartment above the bookstore that he allows me to use as a home for Tara and myself. It's not exactly a palace, but it's comfortable.

We find a school for Tara to attend. She's happy there. At times it almost seems like she's totally forgotten her past life.

I don't try to force her to remember.

This is a fresh start for her. A chance to live a normal life. To leave her past behind her.

I won't take that from her. I can't.

She doesn't talk about who I really am. She calls me "Uncle Trey." She doesn't refer to my mission, and I don't speak of it in front of her.

It won't last.

I think we both know that.

But for as long as we can, we try to be a family.

The old man mostly leaves it to me to run the store. He's not well. He doesn't have long. Even without magic I can see that. It's too bad. He's given me a home. So I do what I can to make his life easier, and work as much as possible.

If I had known _she_ was going to walk through the door that day, however, I might have reconsidered.

"Excuse me? I know it's almost closing time, but Mr. Scribner called and said that a book I had on order came in, and it's really important that I pick it up right now." The girl looks at me anxiously as she opens the door.

 _Raven._

She's wearing her hood and cloak. Her skin is pale, almost gray. She looks at me and frowns. "Don't I know you?"

"No. You don't know me at all, miss." My skin isn't red anymore; it's nearly as pale as hers. I don't have four eyes; just two which are the same violet as hers. I'm tall and thin, but not inhumanly so. My hair is long and white … the only thing about me that has remained the same. "You're that super hero, aren't you?" I frown as though in concentration. "Crow?"

"Close. Raven." She offers a thin lipped smile. "The book, Mister-?"

"Byrne. Trey Byrne." There's a book underneath the counter. I can feel the tingle of magic in it as I pick it up. "This is a dangerous book."

"I can handle it. I'm a professional."

 _Arella._

She's so much like her mother that it makes my heart ache. How often had Arella said such things? How often had she faced danger with little more than bravado and a sarcastic remark?

Along among my friends, my fellow champions, Arella had possessed no great magic, no superhuman strength or physical durability. She had been just an ordinary girl ….

No. That's not true.

There was never anything "ordinary" about Arella Roth.

I'm reluctant to hand the book to Raven. Once she has the book she will leave and I may never see her again. That would be safer for her- the best thing for her.

But she's Arella's daughter. _My_ daughter. I want so badly to be a part of her life, to protect her. To let her know …

No.

I can't be a father to Raven. She said it herself: I was never her father. I did not protect her. I did not raise her. I was never kind to her.

I gave that up when I chose power.

"Be very careful with that book, Raven. You are very powerful and skilled, but overconfidence has been known to be the ruin of many a sorcerer."

"You practice the Art?"

"Not any longer." Honesty forces me to add, "Not at the moment. I nearly died from my magic, and I'm still recovering from it."

"I'm an Empath. If you're injured I can heal you ..." She reaches toward me …

"No!" I pull back violently. If she touches me, she will know. If she knows, she will hate me. She will never talk to me again …

Something in her seems to deflate. She thinks that I'm _afraid_ of her. "Thanks for the book." She tucks it into her cloak.

"Thank you for your offer of help, Raven." I smile at her. "But some wounds can never be healed. We just have to learn to live with them."

"I know the feeling. Goodbye, Mr. Byrne."

"Call me Trey." And because I can't resist. "Be careful!"

She smiles. "I will. Goodbye, Trey. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

She vanishes in a puff of darkness.

I had not expected to see Raven again.

It's bittersweet.

It's the first time I've had an interaction with my daughter that didn't involve violence or conquest … but it's only possible because she did not know who I was.

She can never know who I am.

I can never be her father.

I can help Tara.

I can- maybe- save my friends.

But I can never again be Arella's husband.

I can never be Raven's father.

She will never know me for who I am and look at me with anything but loathing and hatred.

And it hurts more than I can say.


	3. Chapter 3

That boy.

That insufferable boy.

Why did he insist on trying to make Tara remember a life she had walked away from? I know that it hurt her to lie to him; to deny who she was because of she wanted to be, but she did it. He had no right to ask that of her- a choice compelled is no choice at all.

If I was still what I had been he would have suffered for his insolence …

Calm. Calm. I must remain calm.

Raven had banished the Demon Lord Trigon part of me, but I still retained my demonic heritage. I could fall again. If I were not careful …

That is the risk I take in choosing to keep the power to try to return my friends to what they had been.

And today I make a down payment on my debt.

Today I free Atlas.

It's a logical choice. Of all my friends, he poses the least threat to me in my weakened state. And if I can convince him to work with me, he can help me free the others. I will need Atlas and Mae if I am to have a chance of besting Malchior. A dragon's wrath is a terrible thing- and once he remembers what he had bee what I made him do …

Let's just say I am not looking forward to it.

"I can help you," Tara says without looking at me when I tell her that I have located Atlas and will be going to restore him. "You might need my power."

"No." I smile at this girl who has grown to be so important to me. "You do not have to walk this path with me, Tara Markov. "

"You helped me."

"I didn't do so because I was expecting you to help me with my quest. I did so because it was the right thing to do. You made your choice of how to live your life. I will not ask you to change it again on my account."

"All right." She bites her lip and looks away. "Be careful."

"I will," I promise, and I hope that I am not lying.

Father had taught me to be a warrior. To use my magic and physical skills to conquer whatever danger I might find. It was Arella who had taught me that you didn't always have to take the most direct route to achieve your objective.

Jump City was not large by the standards of this world, but it still would take months- possibly years- to find Atlas through a mundane search. Even with magic, searching for one robot in a city as … unique as this one … would have been challenging.

So I didn't.

Atlas still bore the curse I had placed on him.

So I didn't look for Atlas.

I looked for traces of my _magic._

True, this city still bore the scars of what I had done. Raven had been able to repair the damage, to make most people forget what had happened, but there were still scars. I had to examine each before I determined it was not what I had wanted.

It was not pleasant..

As a young man, I had dedicated myself to opposing my mother the Demon Queen's evil. I had sworn time and again I would not let her corrupt me. More than once, I had faced her with my friends at my side, and we had driven her back from my world.

But in the end, she had won.

The price of my defeat- of my arrogance- was paid not just by my world, but by this one as well. Raven had done what she could, but scars do not fully heal. There are men and women in Jump City who wake up screaming and do not know why.

Raven is one of them, but at least she knows why.

Finally, I found Atlas.

He was in a sewer, near a power grid that he could easily tap into to supplant his own energy needs.

On the whole, I would have preferred someplace else to face Atlas in probable combat. He was stronger than me, but I was faster and more agile. (At least I had been in my youth.) I could not cast the spell that would remove the curse until he was subdued, and with my magical powers weakened defeating him would be challenging. If I could have gotten him out in the open … gotten him to burn up his power, then I would have had a much easier time of it.

Now I was going to be dealing with a giant robot who's an expert at hand to hand combat with unlimited power and in a confined space.

Somehow, I'd have to get him out into the open.

I have my magic. (Such as it is.) My wits. (Such as they are.) And my staff. (For what it's worth.)

"Piece of cake," Arella would have said with an arrogant smile and a flip of her hair. Then she would have rushed into it and pulled victory out of defeat as she had done dozens of times when she led our team.

I would give anything if she was with me now.

But she's not.

So I walk into the darkness alone.

"No one defeats Atlas! No one!"

The voice is the same, but the tone, the words, are not.

Atlas had always been formidable, but he had been _kind_ to. A machine built for war, but wanting peace more than anything else. He had loved playing games before I had twisted him, but he had never been so adamant on being the victor. Win or loose, Atlas had been happy just to do his best.

"Hello, old friend."

He whirls about in his chair and stares at me.

I am older now. Taller. Just as thin, with the same long white hair, pale skin, and violet eyes he'd known.

"Who are you?" He asks finally. There's a glint of something that might be recognition in his optics, but it's very faint indeed.

"An old friend. One who has wronged you and seeks to make amends."

"I don't know," he grunts as he stands to his feet. Had he always been so tall? I don't remember him being this big. "I don't know you and I don't like you. Go."

I smile. "I'm afraid I can't do that. _Noctis Lux Anima!"_ My staff bursts into flame.

He stares at the staff for a moment. He stares at me. Again there's a ghost of recognition, but then something else is born … anger.

"No! Not again! I'll destroy you!"

And he charges at me.

I quickly learn three things:

Atlas is faster than I remember. Or I'm slower. And it really hurts when a giant robot grabs you by the throat and slams you against a wall.

" _Noctis Lux An-"_

That's as far as I get before he squeezes the air from me.

"I don't know you, but I don't like you. I hate you. Why do I hate you? Why do I want to kill you so badly- and why do I hate myself for wanting to kill you?"

"It's going to be hard for him to answer when you're choking the life out of him."

Terra leans against the doorway looking at both of us.

Not being able to speak, I glare at her. _I told you to stay out of this._

"Yeah, you're handling this so well." She nods at me. "I'm going to have to ask you to let him go. He pays the rent and my tuition and I don't want to have to break in a new guardian."

Atlas stares at her for a moment. His optics dim and then brighten … his equivalent of blinking. Then with a rumble of static, he drops me and charges at her.

Terra gestures and the floor grabs Atlas's feet and he lands flat on his face. Stone hands grip his arms next. "Better hurry, Trey." Her face starts to sweat. "He's stronger than he looks and I'm not sure I can hold him much longer."

I rub my throat and grab my staff again. " _Noctis! Lux! Anima!"_

I stab my staff down at his head.

A jet of black flame leaps from his head and hits my staff.

The dark flame wages war with my white fire.

So strong. So powerful. A Curse made at the height of my power and evil. And I'm just a shadow of what I had been …

"Trey, you can do this."

I can do this. I have to do this. I owe it to Atlas. I owe it to all my friends.

 _"Noctis! Lux! Anima!"_

And finally … _finally …_ the black flame dies.

Atlas screams and then collapses.

"Is he-?"

"I don't know." I'm sick with worry. Have I destroyed my friend instead of saved him?

"Accessing blocked memory files. Retrieving data. System restoration … now."

Atlas looks up, and I can see that he knows me once more. With a grunt, he shatters his stone bonds and rises to his feet. He lumbers toward me.

Terra raises her hands, but I shake my head.

He looks down at me for a long moment. At least, he says a single word: "Trigon."

"Atlas."

"Trigon."

"It's me, Atlas. I'm back." I smile and lay a cautious hand on his forearm. "And so are you, my old friend. Words cannot express how sorry I am about how I wronged you..."

He looks at me for a moment, and then sweeps me up in his arm and draws me toward him.

This is going to hurt …

But then it doesn't. He's not trying to crush me. He's _hugging_ me!

"Trig! You're back! I'm so happy! I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would never see any of my friends again."

In our youth, I tried to keep my friends at bay.

I would fight alongside them. I would heal them when they were injured. I would eat with them. But I always tried to keep a certain distance, a certain formality, between us. I knew what I was, and that I didn't deserve friends.

But now … now I hug my giant robot friend with all my strength.

"The others?" Atlas finally asks. "What about the others? What do we do about the others?"

"We save them," I tell him through my tears. "We save them all..."

And for the first time, I believe that I'm actually going to be able to pull this off.


	4. Chapter 4

Atlas moves in with us, of course.

Not in the apartment. I'm not entirely sure that he won't fall through the floor … if he can even make it past the stairs. Fortunately the basement is rather large and we manage to sneak him into it without anyone noticing.

Of course this being Jump City, anyone who had noticed might have just decided it was none of their business and kept their mouths shut.

It's good to have my friend back, but every time I look at him I think of my other friends … the ones that I betrayed. The one that I killed …

 _Arella …_

No. I can't think of her now.

I can help the others. I can't help Arella. She's gone. I _destroyed_ her along with Azarath.

"How will we find the others?" Tara asks me when she gets home from school.

"By looking."

It won't be easy. Malchior's own magic is currently stronger than my own. It would be suicide to approach him now. No, only Mae-Eye's power added to Atlas's and mine would be enough to subdue him so that I might reverse his curse.

Of course that meant first we would have to _find_ Mae.

Her own magic is potent … and it's very nature lends itself to concealment and illusion. Finding a witch who does not want to be found is not an easy thing. Not if I restricted myself to magic …

Fortunately, I'm not an idiot.

Atlas was built for power and strength, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some impressive data gathering powers. In the past he had used his ability to link to the Internet to challenge Cyborg (among others) to video game contests. Now he's using it to look for Mae.

In a way, I'm proud of him. I had cursed him, darkened his cybernetic soul, but he had prevented himself from doing real harm. It was only when Cyborg had managed to defeat him in a game that he struck out against him in the real world. He kept his curse under control until he found someone capable of stopping him.

"Trig," he says after hours of searching.

"Yes? You found Mae?"

"No. Not yet. It's just-" He pauses. "I have someone I need to find."

"Someone other than our friends?" I'm trying not to be angry or impatient. If anyone deserves my forbearance, it's Atlas.

"Yeah." He turns and looks at me. "Spike. He was a kid when I got here. He took care of me. Designed weapons that made me even stronger than I was before. And I treated him … badly. He finally walked away from me after he had enough. I owe him, Trig. I have to make it right."

"It was my fault-"

"Yes. It was. Some of it. Some of it's mine. You fixed what you did. Now I have to fix what I did."

"We will, Atlas. We'll fix that too. I promise I'll help you find Spike."

"Thanks, Trig." He can't smile the way a human can, but you can tell if you know him well enough. I'm glad that I still can.

It takes another hour after that for Atlas to find Mae-Eye. Or at least give us a general idea.

If you want to look for a witch, you just look for children. More specifically, you look for children that have disappeared. Mae lives on the psychic energy of her … victims. She needs a constant supply to maintain her powers.

Even with the Titans, there are parts of Jump City that are not safe to travel at night. There are places where a witch can hide … a place where a witch can _hunt._

"You're going to need bait," Tara says when I tell her that Atlas and I have found a place to search.

"No! I won't risk your safety!"

She blushes at that. "You need me in this, Trey. If she doesn't want to be found, it could take you weeks- or even longer- to find her. She needs an incentive to show up- and a super powered teenager is her favorite kind of snack."

"The operative word is 'snack', young lady. If something goes wrong-"

"Then you and Atlas will just have to make sure that nothing goes wrong, Trey." She gives me that smug, self-confident look of hers. "Look, I'm not totally helpless. You know that."

"Tara, you don't have to do this for me. I could never ask you to do this."

"You're not asking. I'm volunteering. Look, Trey … Atlas told me about Mae. And the others. And what you did to them." She goes quiet for a moment. "I did bad things, Trey. I regret that. But I _chose_ to do them. Slade coerced me … but I _chose_ to work with him. Mae-Eye … she didn't choose what happened to her. If I can help her … if I can help her, then maybe I'm making up for some of the bad things that I did. At least a little bit. I need to do this, Trey. Please."

I'm an idiot.

Tara is walking the deserted streets of Mae's hunting ground. Alone.

Because I let her talk me into it.

Atlas and I are shadowing her using the bookstore's delivery truck. It's a tight fit for my robot friend, but he manages it by hiding out in the back. That leaves me driving.

As you might imagine, that is not one of my greatest skills. My home world had not been too dissimilar from Earth, but when you can teleport learning how to drive traditional transportation. I knew just enough to be dangerous.

That meant I wasn't particularly good at being incognito.

"We're either going to need a larger truck or you're going to have to enroll in Driver's Ed," Atlas tells me after half an hour. "I can hear the brakes crying every time you hit them."

"This is harder than it looks."

"Do you think Mae will be able to detect us?"

"Not likely. As a robot, you're not going to trigger her empathic senses. I've cast a spell of concealment on myself."

"And Tara is such a tempting morsel she won't be looking out for oddly behaving vehicles."

I grind my teeth. "She is not a morsel."

"You care about her, don't you?"

"Yes I do. She was the first friend I made when I returned to myself. We helped each other get a new start."

"You're not—?"

"Atlas, she's young enough to be my daughter."

"Ah, so _that's_ it."

"What does that mean?"

"I remember Arella was pregnant, Trig. And I've met the Titans. _All_ the Titans. Raven, she's your girl isn't she?"

"She's Arella's daughter. She would never claim me as her father."

"And that's why Tara's so important to you. She's the daughter that you think Raven will never be."

"She's more than that. Tara's made mistakes. She wants to do the right thing. She's young enough that she has time to do that."

"And you think it's too late for you? That helping her- helping us- will be the closest you can come to doing the right thing."

"Atlas, this isn't the time."

"It's always the time- Hold it."

"What's wrong?"

"My sensors just blipped."

"What?"

"There's something out there. They'd do the same thing when Mae would use her magic."

I look out the window of the truck.

Tara is standing stock still. There's this silly look on her face. I'd seen that look before when Mae-Eye had used her abilities to calm down an enemy or prevent a crowd from panicking.

But we couldn't see her.

"Where is _she?_ Why can't we see her?" Atlas asked.

"Her magic conceals her from adults. I can try to break the spell, but that will cause our concealment to break as well." I pause. "Atlas, we may have to use force to subdue her."

"I understand, Trig." His optics flash quickly. "I've seen her, Trig. Seen what she's become. I can't believe that I didn't remember her- I should have-"

"There was nothing you could have done, Atlas. The curse wiped your memory. Neither you or Mae would have been able to free each other. This isn't your fault. It's mine."

"Trig-"

"Never mind, Atlas." I'd left my staff beside me in the cab. I take hold of it. " _Noctis Lux Anima!"_

Mae's magic has always been strongest in deception, illusion. Deflection was her strength; but when our magics clashed directly against each other, mine's the stronger- even now.

There's a flash, and when it clears Mae-Eye is standing in front of Tara. Atlas had seen her before. I … hadn't.

"Mae," I whisper in shock.

She's been corrupted by the curse. She's fed on the life force of the Light only knows how many children. It's warped her body, twisted her mind, and blackened her soul. "No! Tara dearie, protect your mother!"

Tara whirls, her hands glowing as the pavement rips free from the ground.

Atlas kicks his way out of the delivery truck. "Trig, I'll keep Tara from hurting you. You deal with Mae."

"All right. Be careful."

"Don't worry. I always win." Atlas launches himself towards Tara. It's all the attention I can spare him. In my weakened state, Mae is still a threat.

She stares at me. "You … look familiar." She violently shakes her head.

"We used to be friends, Mae."

"I don't have friends!" She aims with her magic ladle and fires a blast at me.

I deflect it with my father's staff. "Not that easy, Mae. _Noctis Lux Anima!"_

Fire bursts out of my staff, encircling us both. The circle will keep Mae from teleporting away. The bad news is it will do the same to me.

"I don't need my magic! I can tear you apart with my bare hands!"

There'd been a time when she might actually have been able to do that … she's always been able to become a giant just as large as Atlas, and she can convert the energy she draws from others into physical strength for herself. In her prime, she was just as skilled as she was powerful and was able to give Atlas a run for his money in hand to hand combat.

But that was before my curse took her.

She's grown fat from the energy that she's stolen. Fat and slow. Oh, to be sure she's strong enough to tear me apart if she gets her hands on me, but having strength is useless if she can't lay a hand on me.

Time becomes a blur.

She reaches out with one meaty hand or tries to smash my head in with her giant ladle with the other. Either thing would mean my death if she connects- but she doesn't.

I duck when I can. Block when I must. I'm not trying to hurt her. I'm just trying to keep her from hurting me.

She's strong, but her power isn't infinite. The more that she uses, the faster she uses it, the faster she weakens. Once she's weak enough that she won't be able to escape, I can remove the curse.

Out of the corner of my eye, over the circle of flame, I see Atlas fighting Tara. She's hurling dirt and stone at him, he's trying to get close enough to subdue her without risk of hurting her. I know he can take her out without doing any permanent damage, but he just has to get close enough.

Even mesmerized, she's still a formidable foe.

"Who are you?" Mae hisses. "Why do you make my head hurt?"

"I used to be your friend, Mae." Dodge. Deflect. Sweep. "And I'm hoping that we will be again once you're yourself again."

"Myself? What do you mean?"

She actually stops fighting.

I smack the ladle out of her hand.

She falls to the ground. She glares hatred at me. "I'll kill you!"

"Can't say that I wouldn't deserve that, but I'm afraid I can't allow that! _Noctis Lux Anima!"_

Mae screams as the dark fire erupts out of her skin. Her flesh doesn't char, but it must feel like she's burning alive. It's almost enough to blister my skin.

It's stronger than the flames that had corrupted Atlas. It's fed on the life force that Mae herself consumed. And it almost feels like it knows what I'm trying to do.

But I'm stronger too. I tamed the fires that had darkened Atlas. I had done it once. I _knew_ that I could do it again- no matter how strong the curse is, I knew that I could break it because I had done it before.

And I had to do it again.

 _"Noctis! Lux! Anima! Noctis. Lux. Anima. NOTIS! LUX! ANIMA- MAE-EYE BE FREE!"_

And finally the dark flames die.

Mae-Eye collapses, her form shrinking down, growing thinner. She looks up at me with three eyes that weep. "Trigon … why didn't you kill me instead, Trigon … how can you make me live with what I've done? How can I live with what I've done?!"

And she buries her face in her hands.

I fall to my knees. I'm exhausted. I want nothing more than to pass out. I close my eyes ….

"Trigon … we have a problem."

I open my eyes and glance over at Atlas.

He's holding an unconscious Tara in one hand. Gently, but to the casual observer- to one who didn't know Atlas- it would not have been a reassuring sight.

The Titans.

All of them.

Robin stands with his staff in his hands. His face is an impassive mask as he studies the situation.

Beast Boy has turned into some giant reptilian animal. (I learn later that it's called a Tyrannosaurus Rex.) He looks ready to charge Atlas at any moment. His eyes are focused on Tara as though she's all he sees.

Cyborg is also looking at Atlas. He has his sonic blaster leveled at my robot friend. "Let her go or I'll play Rock 'Em Sock 'Em upside your head, Atlas!"

Starfire surprises me.

Her hands are lit with power, but she's not looking ready to combat. She's staring at the sobbing Mae-Eye with so much empathy that it looks as though she going to start crying soon. "X'hal, what did you do to her?"

I look at her friends as long as possible because I don't want to look into Raven's eyes. I don't want to watch that fine mind of hers- that brilliant intellect she inherited from her mother- work out who and what I am.

"Look at me," she finally commands. "Damn you, look at me!"

I do so.

She drops her hood. "He … he called you Trigon. That's impossible. Trigon's dead. Trigon's gone. You can't be Trigon."

"I'm sorry, Raven. I'm sorry for so many things, but I _am_ Trigon. I'm your father ..."

And with that, I pass out.


	5. Chapter 5

I wake up in a bed I don't know in a room I don't recognize.

Tara is at my bedside. "Hey, Trey." She's sporting a black eye but doesn't look to have any serious injuries. "Glad you're awake. I was starting to worry."

"My staff?" I hate having to ask about that before Atlas or Mae-Eye, but it's too dangerous to leave my hands for long.

"Right here." She hands it to me. "Raven cleared giving it back to you when she woke up."

"Raven …" I did not want to imagine what my daughter was thinking right now. I had hoped she would never discover I lived.

"Yeah. She's almost as bad at you as Beast Boy is with me." She does her best to look indifferent, but I can see how that bothers her. Beast Boy had been her friend- and she had turned him away. He might never forgive her … or she herself.

I squeeze her hand. "It'll be all right, Tara."

She offers me a weak smile in return. "I hope so."

"Atlas? Mae?"

"Atlas is okay. He's only apologized to me a dozen times for having to beat me up." She grins, and then sobers up. "Mae-Eye … she passed out right after you did. And she's not woke up. The big guy is sitting by her bedside, talking to her."

That didn't sound good. "I should go to her ..."

"You're not going anywhere."

Raven.

She's standing in the doorway, her hood concealing her features. "You're not going anywhere until you admit you're lying."

Tara rises. "Trey's not a liar, Raven. He is who he says he is."

"This doesn't concern you, Terra." Her voice isn't friendly. "Get out."

"No. I'm not leaving him."

"Last warning, Terra. This isn't about you. Don't make it about you."

"Tara, go. I'll be fine. If she wanted to hurt me, she could have done it when I was unconscious."

"Trey-"

"Go, Tara." I smile. "I'll be fine."

She gives me another look and then glares at Raven. "I'll be right outside the door. Don't think you can pull anything on him without me stopping you, Raven."

Raven snorts.

Tara gives me another hopeful look and then walks out the door.

"So you're my father." It's a sarcastic comment- a sneer.

"Yes. When you defeated me, you freed my human self from the Demon Lord. I became who I was before I succumbed to evil."

"You were _always_ the Demon Lord. Don't try to lie to me."

"I'm not. I was always half-human. My mother was a Demon Queen. My father-"

"Lies!"

The room begins to shake.

"Azar told me the truth. Your father was a demon. Your mother was a sacrifice to him. You conquered your world and then made it a living hell before you even grew up. You were always evil. ALWAYS!"

"Did your mother tell you that?"

"You raped my mother!"

"NO I DIDN'T!" And now I'm causing the room to shake too. "I NEVER WOULD HAVE DONE THAT! I LOVED YOUR MOTHER!" And then quieter. "And she loved me."

"Stop lying!"

"I'm not lying. Who told you that story? Was it your mother? Was it Arella?"

"Don't you say her name! You don't get to say her name!" Her eyes are glowing within her hood, and there are four of them. "Azar told me. Azar told me herself."

Azar, not Arella. I felt a strange sense of relief. Arella had not lied about what we had been to each other. "Azar lied."

"She wouldn't lie! She was good!"

"I'm sure she was." I sigh. "But sometimes good lies and evil tells the truth. "Azar wouldn't want you to know who I had been. She would have wanted you to think of me as a monster so that you would find it easier to fight me if it ever came to that."

"She told me that I couldn't win. That you would destroy the world and there was nothing I could do to stop that."

That puzzles me. "She was wrong then too. You stopped me. You saved your world. You did what I couldn't do." I want to say I'm proud of her, but I know that praise from me is the last thing that she wants.

"Say this is true. Say you are what's left of Trigon. Why are you here? What did you do to Mae-Eye?"

"Cured her."

"Cured her of what?"

"She was my friend. They were all my friends. Atlas. Mae-Eye." I pause. "Malchior." Her eyes narrow and double themselves when I say that name. "You know him?"

"Yes. He tricked me. Pretended to love me so that I would release him from the book he had been trapped in." There's pain in her eyes. "He made me think that he- never mind."

"I'm sorry." And I am. The Malchior I knew was quite charming- handsome, even- when he took human form. But he never would have manipulated a girl as he had done Raven- so this is yet another way I have caused Raven harm. "They weren't always evil either. I did that to them."

"You say they were your friends-"

"They were. Better friends than I deserved. They fought beside me. And when I lost my fight against my demonic heritage, they sacrificed themselves to save your mother." I shut my eyes. "And I cursed them because of that and sent them to bedevil her world. It was my revenge against them all."

"And now-"

"Now I'm trying to make up for what I did. I removed the curse from Atlas and he helped me save Mae. Now I'll need all three of them to save Malchior."

Again the double eyes. "He doesn't deserve saving."

"He didn't deserve damnation. That's on me. Every thing he did is because of the curse that I put on him. You want to blame someone, blame me."

"There's still one thing you haven't told me about yet."

"Yes?"

"Tara. Why is she with you? Why do you"- why was there a curious catch in her voice- "why do you care about her so much?"

"She's my friend. When I first woke up … like this … she was there. She was overcome with guilt with what she had done. Just like me."

"So you helped her."

"We helped each other."

"You didn't … make her forget?"

"No. I think she decided to put that life behind her. She had that right."

"She hurt Beast Boy terribly." She sighs. "When she betrayed us- and when she refused to acknowledge who she really was."

"She has the right to choose her own way. He doesn't own her."

"I don't even know why I'm talking to you. This could all be some scheme of yours to regain your power. You could be lying. You probably aren't even Trigon."

"I am Trigon. I wish I wasn't, but I am." I pause. "There's a way you can find out for sure." I raise my arm. "You can take a DNA sample. Cyborg can compare it to yours."

"How do you know about DNA?"

"I'm a sorcerer, not ignorant." I smile. "Your world isn't all that different from the way mine used to be."

"All right. Come on. Let's get this done." She walks to the door. "Your guard dog can come with."

Tara mock growls at her. "Good to see you haven't lost that sense of humor we all loved about you, Raven."

Atlas stays with Mae-Eye while Cyborg runs his tests. Tara goes to keep him company- probably more to avoid Beast Boy than to provide comfort to our robotic friend. I can't say I blame her.

Robin watches me like he expects me to attack at any moment. Starfire stands at his side, but she casts frequent glances at the room where Mae-Eye is being cared for. Raven watches me.

And much to my surprise, Beast Boy watches Raven.

The boy reminds me of Malchior … the Malchior that I had known, not the monster that I had made him become. He's impulsive, emotional. Juvenile. After about 30 seconds with him I'm seriously tempted to hurt him …

And yet … he looks at Raven with a kindness and consideration that's unmistakable for anyone who's looking. I know that look … and it makes me both think more kindly of the boy and also irritates me beyond belief.

He likes her … and not just as a friend.

And from those occasional looks that Raven gives him from beneath her hood- always when he's not looking- I suspect she likes him too.

Cyborg does not give me more than a glance after he takes a sample of my DNA. He does the same to Raven. "This won't take long at all."

"I do not need the computer to tell me that he is Raven's father," Starfire says abruptly. "Anyone who looks at them can tell that."

"I take after my mother," Raven says stiffly.

"I'm glad," I tell her with a smile. "Arella was a remarkable woman."

"And you killed her." The venom is back in her words again, and I can't deny the pain.

"Yes." I cover my face with my hands. "I did. I destroyed my world. I turned my friends into monsters. And I killed the woman I loved. Do you really think I can forget anything that I've ever done, Raven?"

"Enough, Raven." A gentle hand lays itself on my shoulder. "The Trigon-man is not responsible for what the Trigon-demon did. Tormenting him is beneath you."

"Thank you, Starfire." I nod at the alien girl.

"Cyborg, if I am not needed, I wish to go check on the Mae-Eye."

"We're fine here, Star. Do what you gotta."

"Thank you, friend Cyborg." She looks at me again. "Mae has buried herself deep in the self-loathing. She does not wish to live with what she has done."

"I know." I'm not an Empath like Raven, but even I can see that Mae is shutting herself off from the world. But I don't know how to save her.

"How can you feel pity for her, Star?" Beast Boy finally asks. "She tried to eat us!"

"She was not herself, friend Beast Boy. If what the Trigon-man has told us is true- and I believe it is- then she is as much a victim as we were. If we are heroes- if we are good people- then we must help her."

"Go on, Star," Robin says with that gentleness he only seems to show her. "We'll call you if we need anything."

She offers him a smile and then walks into the room.

Robin turns to look at me. "So … one friend forgave you. Another wants to die. What do you think will happen if you cure Malchior?"

"I don't know." If he kills me- if he kills me before I cure him- at least I managed to save the others.

"He's got a lot of power."

"Yes." Dragons only get stronger as they age … and I sent Malchior to Earth centuries in the past. If not for the book he had been imprisoned in, he might have been strong enough to even give my Demon Lord self a challenge. Now … now I could be in a lot of trouble … even if Atlas and Mae help me.

"Sounds to me like you're going to need help."

"I've got help." I hope.

"Dude, he's a dragon! You're going to need all the help you can get!" Beast Boy waves his arms at me. "He's like Godzilla crossed with Gandalf!"

Raven rolls her eyes. "I'm sure he's quite aware of that, Beast Boy."

"And we're done," Cyborg announces.

Raven looks at him anxiously. Beast Boy looks at her like he wants to take her hand, but sensibly stays where he is. Robin is laser focused on me.

"Congratulations," Cyborg finally says, looking straight at me. "It's a girl. He's your father, Raven."

"No," Raven says softly. "Azar lied to me? Why would Azar lie to me? I trusted her! I LOVED her! And she lied to me!"

The Tower begins to shake.

"Raven … Rae … " Beast Boy smiles as he approaches her. "I don't know why Azar lied to you. It doesn't matter."

"It matters!" But the shaking subsides. "And don't call me Rae." She sighs. "I just don't understand. Why would Azar lie to me?"

"We may never know the answer to that." Because I had destroyed Azarath. "But there is one thing I can tell you, Raven."

She looks at me.

"Your mother loved you very much." _And so do I._ I can't say that to her. I don't have the right for that.

"Maybe this does explain why she didn't talk to me very much," Raven says with a sigh. "Azar wouldn't have wanted to risk Mother telling me the truth. Maybe Azar had a good reason- maybe she was afraid that I would try to free you."

"It worked for Luke Skywalker," Beast Boy observed. "He saved Darth Vader."

"Yeah, but Darth Vader died," Cyborg points out.

"Oh, right." Beast Boy's green colors in embarrassment.

"Never mind that now," I finally say. "I need to get back to Mae. She needs my help if she's going to get through this." Though how I can help her I don't know- but I have to try.

"I'll come with you," Raven says quietly. "She was my mother's friend. You say that she sacrificed her self to save Mother. To save me. It sounds to me like I owe her."

She believes me.

My daughter believes me.

I don't trust myself to speak. I nod at her and gesture for her to lead the way.

Following Raven, I go to face my past- and the friends I wronged- once more.

I had cursed Mae-Eye and then I had cured her. Now I have to do something that may be even more impossible.

Now I have to give her a reason to live.


	6. Chapter 6

Have you ever known someone who was truly _kind?_

Kindness was not something that I had known a lot of in my life before I met Mae-Eye. My father was _good_ , but it's a mistake to assume that someone who was good was also kind. In his way, I think, he loved me … but he did not know how to show that love in any fashion other than to do his best to prepare me to face my mother.

Atlas had been gentle and kind- far more so than his creators ever intended or wanted him to be- but even he paled next to Mae. She was one of the most kind creatures that I had ever known- in both of my lives.

Mae's magic was always powered by emotions. In her youth- when I had fought beside her- she had taken the fear and pain of those she fought to protect to give herself the strength and power to shield them. Nothing made her happier than to preserve life and innocence.

And I had made her someone who fed on those very qualities.

Hatred I had expected- I would have welcomed it. But this guilt … this self-loathing that made her focus her power inward … that made her desire death the way a man wants the touch of his one true love … this I had not expected.

I had expected her to hate _me_ … not herself.

Atlas is at her beside. He is lightly touching one of her hands. He does not look up when we come into the room. Tara is beside him, holding his other giant hand in her two comparatively tiny ones. She looks at me hopefully.

I sigh.

Starfire is on the other side of Mae. She's humming some song that I don't recognize. She is holding Mae's other hand. She smiles at me. "Tell her you are here, Trigon-Man."

"She knows that."

Mae-Eye looks much more like her old self than she had when we freed her from the curse, but she's still not the slender girl that I had known as a youth. She is a woman now- a woman with pain etched into her face and even though she seems dead to the world her three eyes are still bleeding tears.

"Tell her anyway."

I take a seat beside Atlas and touch Mae's cheek. "Mae, I'm here."

Raven puts her hand on my forehead- the first time she has ever touched me- and another on Mae's. "I'll project what you're feeling."

"Mae … Mae I am so sorry that I did this to you. You were my friend- one of the best friends that I ever had. You stood beside me. You fought to save a world that you weren't born on. And in the end, when the smart thing would have been to flee, you tried to stop me. You saved Arella. You saved Raven.

"I can never thank you enough for that. You have every right to hate me. You have every right to blame me for every thing that's happened to you. But please … please don't hate yourself.

"You aren't to blame, Mae. You aren't to blame for any evil that you did. It's all on my head. And I have no right to ask this- but I need your help, Mae.

"Malchior needs you. He's like you- he's cursed to be the monster that he never wanted to be. I want to help him. I want to lift the curse. I want to bring our friend back. But I can't do it, Mae- I can't do it alone. I can't do it even with Atlas's help.

"We need you, Mae. We need you to save Malchior. We need you because you are our friend and we have been without your love and kindness for far too long. Come back to us, Mae. Please. Come back to us."

"Come back to us, Mae," Atlas rumbles softly.

"Come back to us, Mae-Eye," Tara whispers, smiling at me.

"Come back to use, Mae," Starfire says firmly. "You are needed."

"Come back to us, Mae," Raven said gently. "I want to hear the stories of my mother from the people who loved her. Come back so I can thank you for saving her."

For a moment … for a long moment, nothing happens.

And then another voice rings out. A strong voice filled with a certainty that had never wavered even when we were facing hopeless odds. "Come back, Mae- because I didn't come all this way just to watch you die!"

"It can't be," Atlas whispers. "She's gone."

"Who the hell is that?" Tara demands of me as I stare at the hooded and cloaked figure in the doorway.

Mae's eyes flutter. She takes a breath. A soft one, then a stronger one.

Raven lets go of us and stands up. She looks at me, and then back at the woman's who's walking towards us. "How is this possible?"

"I do not understand, Friend Raven. Who is this woman?"

"Beloved," I whisper. I want to touch her. I want to take her into my arms and never let her go. But I don't go near her. I'm afraid she'll vanish like smoke. I'm afraid if I go to her she'll push me away. I don't know which I fear more.

"Mother," Raven says quietly. "It's my mother."

"Arella!" Mae-Eye calls out and sits upright. "You're alive!"

Arella, Raven's mother. Arella, our team's leader. Arella … the woman I had loved and married.

Arella lowers her hood. She's older now, but every bit as beautiful as she was as a girl. She has the same sparkle in her eyes, the same air of derring-do. "Trig, I can't believe you'd even think of getting the band back together without me. If we had a couch, you would totally be sleeping on it tonight..."

"Arella ..."

"Trigon?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

And I ran to her and did just that.


	7. Chapter 7

"Um, Mother? If you could stop trying to swallow Father's tongue long enough to answer some questions I'd appreciate it."

"Have a heart, Raven. The last time I saw Trigon I thought I had lost him forever." Arella smiles at her.

"I know the feeling." Hidden in her hood again, Raven's got four eyes again. A sure sign that she's not happy. "I went back to Azarath- it was restored. I sensed your presence, but I couldn't find you. I couldn't find anyone. I thought Trigon had killed you all."

"I'm sorry, Raven. I would have come to you sooner if I could. The last thing I remember before a few days ago was Azar putting me to sleep. She said that was the only way that Trigon could be defeated. That if he had me then there was no way anyone could stop him."

I close my my eyes as the memories come. "She said you were gone. That you had died. That you were beyond my power."

"And you killed her." Raven still has her four eyes. She is still shrouded in darkness. "You killed them all. Everyone in Azarath."

"No." The memories are hazy, like a dream. But I knew that much. "They were gone. The monks. At the end, there was just Azar and me."

 _I had heard of her. Felt her presence for years. I knew that Azarath was all that stood between Earth and myself. She had taken Arella. She had kept my daughter from me. And now at last .. my power was at its heights while hers was dying._

 _"Our first meeting is our last, Azar," I had told her. "You cannot oppose me any longer. Your dream- and you- die today."_

 _"Our first meeting, Trigon?" She had smiled … and that smile was somehow mockingly familiar. "You know so little. And that power and you are still little more than a child."_

 _"I conquer! I destroy! I rule!"_

 _"Your world is an ash heap. Your daughter is safe on Earth. Arella is beyond your reach. Death has claimed her."_

 _"Arella dead?!" Pain- vengeance denied- or something else? Something that I had thought myself incapable of feeling? "No! I will burn this place to ashes, Azar! I will burn YOU to ashes."_

 _"Go ahead and try, Demon Lord." Her hands began to burn with power. "I have harvested the power of everyone in Azarath- now your reign ends!"_

"We fought," I told them. "We fought and she lost. I saw no one else there. Our battle leveled Azarath. I left and went to Earth."

"You said you just woke up," Raven said to Arella, ignoring me once more. "What could have caused that? I defeated Trigon months ago."

"I'm guessing I woke up when Trigon freed Atlas from the curse. Somehow I knew that my team needed me. I knew I had to get back to Earth. It took some doing for me to find a means of activating a portal back home."

"Your team?" Robin asks her. He's joined us in Mae's room while Cyborg is giving my old friend an examination.

"Don't you know?" Arella smirks again. When I was young, I had found that smirk of hers irritating at first, then charming … now I was just thankful that I got to see it again. "I was the leader."

"She was really good at giving orders, too," I admit. "We could practically hear her in our sleep."

"I did," Mae says softly. "That's why I came back. I knew if we had Arella, things could be all right once more. There's nothing we can't do when we're all together."

Arella reluctantly lets go of me and walks back to Mae's bedside. She kisses our friend on her forehead. "I came back for you, Mae. I am so sorry I left you all behind."

"It was our choice, Arella," Atlas rumbles, laying one of his giant metal hands on top of her delicate human ones. "We would do it again if we had to."

"Please don't say that." She smiles at him. "I couldn't live with myself if I had to go through that again. If not for Raven I don't think I would have lived through it the first time."

"Mother." Raven's voice is cold, tight with self-control. "Why didn't you tell me all of this when I was growing up?"

"I couldn't, Raven."

"What do you mean you couldn't? You were practically a stranger to me. You left me for the monks and Azar to raise. Azar said that it was because you were overcoming the trauma of my conception and birth. That any woman who was raped by a demon and gave birth to his spawn would need years to overcome it all. I thought that was why you didn't want to be around me. Why you didn't love me-"

"Raven, there has never been a time when I didn't love you or want you." Arella walks over to our daughter's side. I'm struck once more by how much Raven resembles her mother. And not just physically- like Arella, Raven had the courage to start live anew on a new world.

"Then why-?"

"I didn't tell you because I couldn't, Raven." Arella closes her eyes. "I don't know how to explain it, Raven. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to go to you and tell you the truth about your father- but I couldn't. It was like some force was binding my tongue. I _knew_ Azar wasn't telling you the truth, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. Azar was keeping you safe- if we had gone to Earth we would have been helpless to stop your father from taking us both. Only Azar had the power to keep you safe. I didn't like it, but I didn't see another answer."

"A geas." Raven and I said at the same time.

"What do you mean?" Atlas asks.

"Someone magically prevented Arella from telling Raven the truth about her origins. Three guesses as to who."

"And the first two don't count," Raven added angrily.

"Azar," Arella murmurs. "But why?"

"We'll probably never know the answer to that," I admit. "Not after … what I did."

"Will you give that a rest?" Atlas demands. "We all have done things we regret, Trig. We can't change the past. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to help Mal. As soon as Mae is back on her feet, we have to save him. How do we find him?"

"That won't be a problem," Raven tells us. "A thousand years ago a sorcerer named Rorek captured Malchior inside his spellbook. I have the book."

"I thought that Brain freed him when he captured almost all of us Titans," Robin murmurs.

"I totally saved everyone that time," Beast Boy says with a cocky grin.

"He didn't free him from the book. He wouldn't have done that if he could as Malchior would have been far too powerful if left to his own devices. I took the book back after we defeated the Brain and his new Brotherhood of Evil," Raven says by way of explanation.

"Well that's good, right?" Atlas says. "We can lift the curse from Mal with no problem whatsoever."

"Sadly, no." I sigh and close my eyes. "The curse prevents Malchior from using his full powers, but it will also prevent me from lifting the curse on him. The only way we can free him is if we free him from the book."

"That's a bad idea," Robin replies. "He nearly defeated us all the last time he got free of that book. If Raven had not put him back ..."

"It's not his fault he's evil. He deserves to be saved. I am going to save him."

"Are you going to save him because it's the right thing to do or to make yourself feel better?" Robin challenges me. "I'm sorry for the person he was, but that dragon is too powerful just to be set free again. What if you aren't able to lift the curse once he's free? He'll never let himself be bound in that book again."

"Whatever my motivations, he deserves to be free." I can't answer Robin any other way because I don't know the answer. I am Trigon, after all.

"There is a way," Raven finally says. She doesn't look thrilled, but I can tell that she has an idea.

"Like what?" Robin asks he skeptically. "I know your mother just literally _talked_ Mae-Eye into waking up but do you really think that he'll submit if she just asks nicely?"

"Mal was very fond of me," Arella murmurs, and I try not to let the sudden surge of jealousy show on my face.

"He was in love with you," Mae whispers. She is barely able to sit up, but she forces herself to do so. "He was the one who found the magic to send you to Azarath."

"So my first boyfriend had a crush on my mother," Raven mutters. "That's not creepy."

"Boyfriend? He was just leading you on, Rae." Now it's Beast Boy's turn to look jealous.

"Whatever," Raven waves a hand. I can see the slight smile on her face, and I realize that Beast Boy's affections for her are not unreciprocated.

Arella's eyes meet mine, and we share a rare smile.

"Just what do you have in mind, Raven?" I finally ask her.

"Simple. We can't remove the curse-"

" _We?"_ Arella and I both exclaim, but Arella silences me with a look before she continues. "I don't recall anyone giving you permission to involve yourself in this, Raven."

"I am involved whether you like it or not, Mother." Raven glares at her. "Your friends saved you- saved us- and they paid a terrible price for it. And as much as I hate to admit it, Malchior is one of them. Father's right; the dragon doesn't deserve this curse. Much as he hurt me, he saved my life before I was born. I owe it to him to help save him if I can- and I'm the only one who can help you save him."

"What do you mean?"

"Robin's right. We can't free Malchior. It's too dangerous. We also can't leave him cursed. There's only one way for us to save him and not endanger the world."

"I don't like the way this sounds," Cyborg growls. "I don't know magic, but I know Raven's 'This is incredibly dangerous but I'm going to do it anyway' tone of voice."

"What is your plan, friend Raven?" Starfire is still sitting at Mae's beside, helping Cyborg treat her. It's the first thing she's said since Arella arrived.

"We can't let Malchior out of the book, but we can go _into_ the book with him. Once we're there, Father should be able to removed the curse."

"That is a terribly bad idea," Robin declares flatly. "You told us before that Malchior has absolute power inside the world of the book."

"Raven can just send us into the book," Arella says. "Trigon and myself. We'll take care of this. I can reach Mal. I'm sure of it."

"You're not going anywhere without me," Atlas declares. "You're my friends- all of you. Even Mal. He'd never forgive me if I wasn't there to stop him from hurting you."

"And you'll need my power too," Mae adds quietly. "It will take all of us to save Mal."

"Then Raven can send us into the book-" Arella begins desperately.

"I can't use the curse that put Malchior in the book in the first place," Raven tells her gently. "I barely had the strength to release him before. No, there's only one way for this to work. I'll teleport us all into the book-"

"Can you do that?" Robin asks her.

"Yes."

"You aren't going in there alone," Beast Boy says. "I'm going with you, Rae!"

"I also will accompany you!" Starfire chirps in.

"You know I'm not going to miss this party!" Cyborg declares.

"You realize how stupendously bad this idea is?" Robin finally asks us all.

"Yep," Raven says deadpan. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Robin runs a hand through his hair. "All right, Titans. Let's go save a dragon!"


	8. Chapter 8

One moment we were all standing in Raven's bedroom- the mirror piqued my curiosity- and the next we were inside Rorek's spell book. Malchior's prison.

"Very smooth spell." I couldn't resist complimenting her. Raven had done well.

"Thanks ever so much." Even within the darkness of her hood, I could see Raven rolling her eyes. "Don't worry. I timed the spell. No matter what, we'll all return within two hours."

"As long as we stay alive." Arella had a staff of her own … one that I had given her so long ago. I had enchanted it to be all but indestructible. What I knew about staff fighting, she had taught me. (Father had taught me the use of a sword if you're curious.)

"That is the rub," Raven admits.

"Do you have your powers here?" Robin asks. He has his own staff and he was scanning the sky, looking for trouble.

"Sensors are getting wacky readings, but I still got my groove on." Cyborg scans around. "I don't read any other people other than us."

Beast Boy turns into a dog and sniffs the ground. He becomes an eagle and flies high up into the sky before landing. "This ain't what I was expecting, yo."

"It is different." Starfire is hovering in mid-air with Mae beside her.

"After what you guys said, I was expecting some sort of Medieval Village with castles and stuff." Tara looks around. "This doesn't look all that different from Jump City."

"Malchior's been trapped in this book for centuries." I'm reluctant to use my magic to search for him. As soon as Raven or I use any active magic, he'll be able to sense us. I don't want him to find us before we find him. "He's shaped the reality of the place to his liking. This was our home, our world- before I destroyed it."

I feel Arella's hand on my shoulder. "Trigon … don't. We don't have time for you to wallow in guilt right now. I need you focused on the mission."

"That's our girl," Atlas chuckles. "It's good to have you back, 'Rell."

"You didn't even remember me, Atlas. And don't call me 'Rell."

"Whatever you say, 'Rell."

She sighs and then hugs him. "God, I am so glad to have you back, you big tin can."

"Look," Mae whispers. She used to be so loud, so happy … but she's been capable of no more than a whisper since she woke up. "I think Trigon's about to smile."

"I am totally not smiling." I say it sternly, but I can feel my lips twitching.

My team- my family- is almost complete.

There's no traffic on the streets. There are abandoned autos, but no people. Our skyscrapers were different than the ones on Earth- less glass- but they were just as tall.

And Malchior could be on any one of them, waiting to swoop down and destroy us.

"This was the city that we protected," Arella murmurs.

"Yes." Atlas turns and points down a given street. "Our tower should be out that way."

"Tower?" Raven asks.

"We were the Champions of Chaos City," I murmur. "We had a tower on a mountaintop- far enough away to keep the city safe if our enemies attacked, close enough that we could get here when we needed to." I glance at Arella. "You're thinking he'll be there."

"Dragons like high places. And that was his home. Mal's there. I'm sure of it."

"He's not Mal now." I hate having to say this. "You have to remember he's not the dragon we knew."

"He's still in there," Arella touches my cheek. "I know he is. We just have to bring him out."

"We will." I try to sound firm. "We will."

"If we're not going to use magic, are we going to have to hoof it?" Cyborg asks. "I mean, these cars aren't real, are they? I can't imagine a dragon knows how to make working cars."

"You'd be surprised," Atlas murmurs easily. "I taught Mal a lot because I needed someone to help me with maintenance. Mae was enthusiastic, but never got the hang of our tech. 'Rell was willing, but she was too busy training the team all the time. And Trig?" I try to ignore how hot my ears get when Atlas laughs. "You really don't want to see the tragedies that happen when Trig gets behind the wheel."

"I saw him drive and I lived to tell the tale," Terra says stoutly. She's back in her old Titans uniform. "Barely."

"And I thought I could always count on you, Tara." I do my best to look offended.

She lightly leaps off her rock and rushes up to give me a sudden hug. "Of course you can always count on me, Trey. You're my best friend."

I hug her back, surprised. Random hugs was not something I had experienced as a Demon Lord. Even before that … even before that I seldom had physical contact with anyone, and Arella was the only one who ever initiated anything. "Thank you, Tara."

I glance over at Beast Boy. Given the torch he'd been carrying for her, I expected him to look jealous at this display of Tara's affection for me. He wasn't.

He was looking at Raven.

Raven has this _look_ on her face that I never would have expected. "If you two are through with the Daddy-daughter bonding, we should get a move on if we're going to save Malchior." She floated away.

Arella watched her go, frowning slightly as well.

Tara lets go of me. "I'll go help Atlas."

"Sure, kid. Come on." Atlas puts a careful hand on her shoulder and the two of them walk away.

"Um … I'll go lend a hand too." Cyborg saunters after them.

"Starfire, Mae, and I can do some reconnaissance," Robin offers. "If that's all right with you, Arella."

"Me?" she asks with a smile.

"Your team. Your world. And you're obviously the one in charge."

"Go right ahead. Mae can help you out. I'm sure she remembers Chaos City."

"This will be an adventure! Friend Mae-Eye you must tell me all about your adventures!"

Mae-Eye smiles slightly. "That would take a long time, Starfire."

"Then we had best start." Starfire flew down and took Robin into her arms. The three of them flew off.

"Go to her." Arella isn't looking at me. "Go to Raven."

"What for? She hates me. Nothing I can say or do will ever change that."

"Did you see that look she gave you?"

"Yes. She was upset we were wasting time."

"She was upset that you treat Tara more like a daughter than you do her."

"Raven made it clear that she doesn't want any part of me."

"That's what she said. That's not what she meant. Go to her."

"You should go to her. You're her mother."

"I've not been the best mother, but I'm not the one who tried to use her as a weapon. The one who was every bit the monster that Azar told her he was- until he wasn't. Her whole world's been turned upside down because you're not the person she spent her life believing you to be. And if you're not the monster she's supposed to fight, who is she supposed to be?"

"She can be whoever she wants." The sudden anger in me makes my jaws ache. "I'll destroy anyone who threatens her."

"That's a bit more than she needs to hear right now, Trig." Arella looks at me. "Go to her. Talk to her. You won't fix anything without talking."

"This can't be fixed. I lost my chance to be Raven's father when I made the choices I did. When I became the Demon Lord."

"Stop being so stubborn or I'll kick your ass. We're going to be in the fight of our lives, soon. We can't afford for our two heaviest hitters to be estranged from each other. Now go talk to her or I'll drag you off to her myself."

"You have the resolve face, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Fine. But don't blame me if she tries to kill me."

"I won't."

Raven is standing by herself watching Cyborg and Atlas argue about finding or creating a vehicle they can use. Beast Boy is with her cracking really stupid jokes.

 _He's a hero. Can't kill him just because he's making puppy dog eyes at my daughter._

"Beast Boy," I murmur. "Why don't you go help the others."

It wasn't a request, and he didn't take it as such. "Um … sure, Trigon. Just call out if you need anything, Rae."

"Don't call me Rey … Garfield."

Beast Boy winces and then becomes a small bird and flutters away.

"What do you want, Trigon?" She didn't look at me.

"To … be better for you." I swallow. "To be your father."

"You're too late for that."

"I know. I didn't say I expected it to happen. I just told you what I wanted." I look at one of the other buildings. "I never expected Arella to choose me."

"What?"

"Mal was in love with her too. And in spite of being a dragon in his true form, he was the better man. He was smart. Funny. Charming. Kind. Generous. Heroic. Personable. Pretty much everything I wasn't. Arella liked him too."

"What happened?"

"I told her that I understood why she liked him better than me. I listed all the reasons he was the better choice. I told her that I wouldn't let my personal feelings interfere with the team and that I wouldn't act jealous." I smirk. "I was lying."

"Of course." Raven's tone was indecipherable.

"She agreed with me. She said that Mal was a better choice. That she could be happy with him. That he loved her, and that it wasn't impossible that she could learn to love him too. Then she said there was just one problem."

"I was in love with another man." Arella walked over to us.

"I thought you said that I had to handle this."

"I did. I changed my mind."

"Mother."

"Raven."

"Why him? Why Trigon? You knew his legacy. Why take it on? Why throw away a chance for happiness and a normal life."

"You think being married to a dragon would have been a normal life?"

"More normal than this." Raven sighs and looks at us. "Why him, Mother? Knowing how badly it could blow up, why would you let yourself fall in love with Trigon?"

"I didn't 'let' myself fall in love with Trigon, Raven. It happened. He was the one person I couldn't live without. Trig would have done his best to live up to his word; he would have stayed with us; he would have been Mal's friend. He would have been my friend. But it wouldn't have been enough. Not for me.

"I love him, Raven. I did then. I do now. And it's because I loved him, that you came to be." Arella walks over to our daughter. "I'm sorry your life has been so traumatic. I wish that it could have been simpler. I wish you could have grown up with us as your parents and our friends as your family. I wish you could have been born to peace."

"But I wasn't. I was born the daughter of a Demon Lord."

"I'm sorry, Raven." Just words, but it was all I had to offer.

"You know, I thought I had made peace with my heritage when I defeated you. You were gone. I had my friends. I was making a difference every day. And if I still had my powers- if there was still darkness in me, I knew my place in the world."

Raven shudders. "And then you came back- and you're not a monster. You're good. You're even- dare I say it?- heroic. You have friends. People you care about. You're trying to do the right thing. You're good to Terra. You treat her like a daughter.

"But not me. You stay away from me. You don't tell me the truth."

"Would you have believed me?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But you stayed away. You didn't give me a chance to know you. To know the _real_ you. Even when I showed up on your front door, you literally _hid_ who you were from me."

"I had to."

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid."

My answer clearly surprises her because she turns and looks at me. "Afraid?"

"You have no reason to love me. Quite the opposite in fact. I _damned_ my friends, Raven. If they hadn't sent your mother away ..." I close my eyes to keep the dark thoughts out of my head. "I was a monster. I had never been anything good for you. You would have every right to turn your back on me- or knock me on my ass. I couldn't go through with that. I couldn't stand the thought of you knowing who I was and not being a part of your life. If you didn't know, you might come back to the book store. That was all I hoped for."

"And you already found yourself a new daughter, didn't you? You had Tara. You didn't need me. You had her. Someone who didn't know the monster you were before. Someone who could just accept you with open arms- the _easy_ choice.

"You had her. You didn't need me. You didn't _want_ me."

"That's not true." I'm surprised by this. "You're my daughter. I care for Tara- yes, but she didn't take your place in my heart. No one can take your place in my heart, Raven. You may never love me, but there will never come a time when I don't love you."

Raven looks at me and I feel like my heart is going to break all over. "I want to trust you- I want to believe you- but it's so _hard_. I'm afraid this is a dream. That I'll wake up in my bed and you'll still be the monster."

"I know. I understand."

"But can we try?" There are tears on Raven's face, and I suspect on my mine too. "Can we try to be a family? Even if it's just a dream? Can I call you Dad?"

"You can call me whatever you want, Raven." I open my arms up.

She looks at me for a moment. She doesn't say anything.

I'm a fool. I shouldn't expect that much. I start to lower my arms …

And then Raven flies into them.

And we hold each other for a very long time.


	9. Chapter 9

Cyborg and Atlas manage to cobble together a delivery truck that we're all able to fit inside. Cyborg insists on driving his "new baby" all the way to Champions Tower. The rest of us sit in the back and talk.

"We need a plan," Arella says.

"Yes!" Robin agrees emphatically. "Will Malchior remember any of you?"

"Atlas and I didn't," Mae offers quietly. She's sitting by herself, crossing her arms. The sadness in her three eyes still stings me with guilt.

"But Mal's a dragon," Arella says. "And magically very powerful."

"Physically too, yo," Beast Boy offers. He's sitting between Tara and my daughter and trying not to look like he's in heaven. I occasionally glare at him because I'm a father. "He's like super dangerous."

"We can take him," Tara offers.

"The objective isn't to take him." Raven glares at her. "We're trying to save him, remember?"

"I am sure that Friend Tara has not forgotten. But we must remember the last time we fought Malchior we were only able to defeat him by returning him inside Rorek's spellbook. Now that we are inside the spellbook we do not have that option." Starfire blinks. "And our time is running out before Raven's spell returns us to the real world."

"He's going to know we're coming," Robin muses. "He'll be able to see us from that tower. We need to distract him while we get our people into position." He looks at Raven. "We have to be prepared to defend ourselves."

She nods, accepting that logic.

"I can do that," Arella says.

"No. No you can't." I glare at her. " _I'll_ distract Malchior."

"I can do a better job of it." Arella looks away for a moment. "Mal … cared for me. If there's anything left of our old friend- no matter how deeply it's buried- he won't hurt me."

"And if you're wrong you'll fry." Raven shakes her head. "I agree with Dad. You shouldn't do it. I can do it. Malchior will remember me."

"Did you just call Trigon 'Dad'?" Cyborg asks over his shoulder.

"Yes. Do you want to make something of it?" Raven glares at him without looking at him. Quite a talent.

"Not me." I swear I can hear a grin in Cyborg's voice.

"You aren't going to face Malchior either," I tell her. "As your father, I forbid it."

"You forbid it?" Raven arches an eyebrow.

I glare at her. "Yes. I absolutely forbid it."

Raven smirks. "What are you going to do- ground me?"

'I'll think of something."

"Raven, we need Trigon and you to be in position. You two are our best hope of subduing Malchior without hurting him. You'd make a fine distraction, but we can't afford you getting injured." Robin crosses his arms and looks at her. "You know I'm right."

"Listen to Robin, mama," Beast Boy urges.

"Mama?" Arella and I both ask.

Raven blushes. Beast Boy looks suddenly nervous. "I'll go keep Cyborg company." He turns into a bird and flies up to the front of the truck.

"Mama," Arella says with a smirk. She looks at our daughter with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something you're not telling us, Raven?"

"Um … no?" Raven covers her face with her hood. "I … need to meditate."

Tara watches the display between us all with a sad look on her face. I catch her eyes with mine. No matter what, we were in this together. I want her to know that.

Tara smiles slightly at me and nods her head.

"We all agree we need a way to distraction," Robin says. "We just have to figure out who and how we're going to do it. Are we agreed on that much?"

"Yes." I nodded my head and my wife and daughter did so as well.

"Then let's figure out how it's going to work ..."

..TT..

"MALCHIOR!"

The woman raises her staff and slams it onto the road in front of the drawbridge to Champions Tower. The ground seems to echo with the force of the blow. She does it again.

"MALCHIOR!"

There's a moment of silence, and then the giant dragon flies out of the town and hovers in mid-air, glancing down at the woman below him. "Who are you, woman? How did you come to this place? What do you want?"

"You know who I am, Malchior." She smiles at him.

The rest of us are getting into position. I can hear Raven whispering her mantra to herself. Atlas is preparing himself for battle. Robin is moving into position. Tara is reaching into the Earth.

I whisper a spell to protect my companions against the first of the dragon. It won't make them completely immune, but it will keep them from suffering permanent damage. If he had not been distracted, he would have sensed the magic before it was finished.

"Woman, you are starting to annoy me." Malchior growled. "How did yo come here?" He pauses. " _Raven_ sent you, didn't she? Why? Are you her enemy?"

"I am not." The woman smiles. "You know me, Mal. We saved each other a hundred times. We fought for each other. We saved each other. We were friends. We were teammates. We were … Champions."

Malchior's eyes glow. Not with his own magic, but with the power of my curse upon him. "No!" he howled.. He roared in anger and pain, clutching his head with his fore claws. "No! You will not corrupt me! You will not control me! I am Malchior! Malchior!"

And he breathes fire upon the woman.

"Oh, Mal," Mae-Eye says with a smile. "You _know_ that can't hurt me!"

And she slams Arella's staff into his jaw, hurling him backwards. She tosses it towards my wife who leaps into the air to catch it before somersaulting back to to her feet. "Mal! It's Arella! We're here- we're all here for you! Remember us! Remember your friends! Remember your family!"

Raven rises into the air. "Malchior, listen to her! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She holds out her hands and black energy flies from her hands, binding the dragon's wings.

"We're here, Mal!" Atlas stood up. "The gang is back! Let us help you! Let us help you remember who you really are!"

It was time.

"Malchior!" I hold my staff with both hands in a horizontal position as I levitate myself into the air. "I'm here to help you. We're all here to help you. Don't fight us. You'll remember everything soon."

His dragon eyes widen as they gaze upon me- and a sort of dim recognition. "No! Not you! You're not real! None of this is real- except Raven! She's come here to torment me! To destroy me! I won't let her do that! I won't let her destroy me!" He breathes fire on the dark bonds that hold his wings and takes to the air once more. "I'll destroy you! I'll destroy all of you!"

"We're going to have to do it the hard way!" Robin declares leaping forward to pull Raven out of the way of a fire blast.

"Dude! You tried to roast Raven! That is so not cool!" Beast Boy changes into some sort of bird and then becomes a giant gorilla as he lands on Malchior's back. He begins punching frantically on the dragon's back.

Mal twisted upside down, dropping the shapeshifter from his back.

"Beast Boy!" Mae-Eye flies forward and manages to capture the Titan while the dragon began breathing fireballs all around her.

"It's always the hard way!" Terra gestures and boulders fly into the air, intercepting Malchior's fireballs before they can harm anyone.

"Welcome back to the Titans, Terra!" Cyborg began firing white sound blasts at Mal, trying to force him to break off his attacks.

"What do you mean, 'welcome back to the Titans, Terra'?" Atlas demands as one of his arms becomes a Gatling gun that he uses in tandem with Cyborg's attack. "Terra is totally a Champion now! Right, Terra?"

"Um- I'm still planning on finishing high school!" Terra mutters as she continues her assault.

"We have to bring him back down to ground!" Arella declares. "Otherwise we'll never be able to subdue him."

"I'm on it." Raven wraps herself in her soul-self, a giant black bird, and takes to the sky. She dodges around Malchior as the two of them circle each other, fire and shadow.

"She's going to need help!" Beast Boy cries. He raises his hands to become some sort of reptilian bird- a pterodactyl I'm told later- and starts to wing into the sky.

"She will need help." I haven't done this in years. I don't know if I still can. But it's time.

I call forth my own soul-self.

Raven's is shadow. I am fire.

Hers is a bird of darkness. Mine is a giant of flame.

 _Raven, he's too strong for you to defeat by yourself. Try to force him to come down. Get him within my reach._

 _On it, Dad._

With Beast Boy to help her, Raven dives at Malchior, raking his body with shadow claws. He twists and writhes like a boneless snake, trying to sink his claws into her … but whenever he tries he's just reaching into darkness. He cannot hurt her physically.

But his fire is magic.

"Burn, Raven! Burn!"

And with a roar of fire he _strikes_ my daughter and Raven's soul-self flickers out and she begins to fall.

With a screech of dismay, Beast Boy folds his wings and dives after her, snatching her to safety an instant before she hits.

"RAVEN!"

I roar a challenge at the dragon, my heart just as much aflame as my soul-self. "You think you know fire, dragon? I AM FIRE! REMEMBER ME, MALCHIOR! REMEMBER TRIGON!"

Malchior roars his own challenge and dives down at me.

I vaguely remember that I'm here to _save_ him, but the white hot fury over watching him hurt my daughter has placed those thoughts on the back burner. I remember Mal being one of my oldest, dearest friends- but right now all I really want to do is wring his dragon neck.

He collides into my soul-self because I make it solid enough to take the impact. I grab his throat and slam him into the ground. I grip his throat with fiery fists and start to squeeze.

"Trigon!" Arella screams at me. "No!"

"We didn't come here for this, Trigon!" Mae-Eye flies up to the eyes of my fiery soul-self but I ignore her. Malchior had _hurt_ Raven. _No one_ got to hurt my daughter! _No one!_

 _Dad! Daddy! Daddy, no!_

 _Raven?_

I still had the blazing hands of my soul-self wrapped around Malchior's throat, but I turned my head to see Raven. She was being supported by Beast Boy. Her cloak was singed, but she did not look hurt. Without speaking aloud, she looked into my eyes. _We're here to help him. Remember that._

And with that, Raven gestured, and bands of darkness wrapped around Machior's jaws, closing them. "We need to hold him down so Dad can perform his spell."

"On it!" Atlas said. He grabbed Malchior's left leg. "You ain't going nowhere, old buddy!"

"I got the right!" Cyborg grabbed the other leg.

"And I'm on the right hand!" Terra gestured and bands of rock grabbed that limb.

"We have the left, Friend Terra!" Stafire and Mae-Eye grabbed that one.

"We'll make sue the wings aren't going anywhere!" Robin wrapped those limbs in some sort of high tech line that Arella tied together with her indestructible staff.

Malchior's eyes blaze hate at me.

I banish my soul-self and placed my staff against his forehead. I feel the anger start to drain out of me. "I'm sorry, old friend. You didn't ask to become this. Noctis! Lux! Anima!"

The curse is strongest of all on Malchior. It's mixed in with his own magic. It's had over one thousand years of Earth-time to fester in him. I had hated Mal most of all because he had sent Arella to safety- he had denied me my heir.

And he had loved Arella.

"NOCTIS! LUX! ANIMA!" It's so strong. The curse is so powerful. "Guys, help me. I can't do this unless Mal helps."

"C'mon, Mal!" Atlas urges. "We need you back!"

"You were always the best of us, Mal!" Mae whispers urgently. "We need you now more than ever."

"Mal, you loved me once. You saved me. You saved my daughter. We need you to win this fight for us. Help Trigon heal you! Remember who you are. Remember who we are!"

Something … _gentle_ forms in his eyes...

"Please, Malchior," Raven says softly. "Come back to us."

For a moment, we teeter on the brink …

And I hear Malchior's voice in my head. _I am Malchior. I am a Champion. And I want to be free of this pain._

And it's enough.

The darkness of the curse roars out of him and into my staff …. for a moment the pressure threatens to shatter it... and then the darkness blasts out of the staff and into the sky.

"Let him go," I tell the others, leaning on my staff.

They do.

Mal sits up. He begins to shrink … turning from a dragon into his preferred humanoid form. A black haired purple skinned young man with golden dragon eyes. Even though it's been a millennium for him, he looks scarcely older than in that form than he did the last day I saw him.

Dragons are _very_ long lived.

"Trig," he said.

"Mal."

"You came back."

"So did you."

"I'm glad."

"Me too."

"Would you mind if I give you a hug? Right now I really want to hug you."

"Go for it."

And as we wrap our arms around each other, I smile.

My family is whole once more.


	10. Chapter 10

The Titans are understandably nervous when we return to the real world.

"Raven?" Robin asks.

"It worked," my daughter told her leader. "The curse was lifted from Malchior. He's not a threat anymore."

"The curse may be lifted but are we sure he's not a threat?" Robin is plainly not a trusting young man. "He was evil a long time. Just because he's free of Trigon's curse it doesn't mean he's a threat."

"Mal's our friend," Atlas glares down at the smaller human. "We aren't leaving him imprisoned now."

"If Mal deserves to be caged then so do I," Mae-Eye whispers. "I have done horrible things too."

"We all have," I admit.

"Robin, I promise you the Champions will be responsible for Mal's behavior," Arella states, slipping between our robot friend and the Titans' leader. "Let him out. Please."

"Robin." Raven's voice is gentle, devoid of her usual sarcasm. "We have to extend a little trust or this was all wasted."

The Boy Wonder frowns again, but he nods his head. "Titans, be ready. Just in case."

Cyborg nods, his hand turning into that white sound cannon of his. Beast Boy becomes a gorilla. Starfire's hands glow with power. Raven hovers into the air.

"Now, Raven."

"Hezberek Et Morine...Gost Wenthen Verbis Nex...Ind Obrium, Bis Pendrule...Paran Sic Cortis Rex!"

"Nicely done, daughter," I congratulate her. "Excellent pronunciation."

"Thank you, Father."

This magic feels different than mine or Raven's. Or even Mae or Mal's.

"The sorcerer who created the curse was from Earth," Raven explains.

"Oh."

"He was very powerful."

"Indeed." It made me curious about the mages of this world. I knew there was magic here, of course- even before Raven had been born- there had been mages here. That was how Arella had found her way to my world. The bookstore tomes were different … tended to focus on the universal constants of magic that were the same from plane to plane.

"You have that look on your face," Arella tells me, squeezing my hand.

"What look?"

"The 'I just found out something new and I want to learn all about it right now' look." She chuckles. "You always were curious."

"One of my few virtues."

"Be virtuous some other time. Right now we're about to welcome a friend back to the real world."

"Yes, love."

She suddenly grows teary eyed. "You know, I thought I would never hear you say that again. I never thought I would see you- or any of our friends- ever again."

"I know. Arella-"

"No, Trig. Don't apologize. Not again."

"Sorry."

"What did I say about apologizing?"

"Not to do it again?"

"Yes. That."

"Sorry..."

"Now you're just playing with me."

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "Every chance I get."

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Did it work?" Robin asks.

"It didn't take this long last time," Raven mutters. "Did I do something wrong?"

The book flies open.

A shimmer of light flies out of the center of the book and turns into the human form that Mal has always favored.

"I'm … free?" He touches his face. Then he looks at the book. A look of purest hatred comes to his face, and I can feel him gathering the magic to destroy it … and then he lets it go. "Raven?"

"Yes, Malchior?"

"Thank you so much." His face is lit up with such honesty, such gratitude. "Thank you all for helping me."

"Your welcome," Robin says cautiously.

He picks up the book- and then hands it over to Raven. "You should keep this. Rorek was very wise. You could learn a lot from his spell-book And if something should happen and I turn evil again, you could use the book to imprison me again."

"Um … thanks."

"Oh that's never gonna happen!" Atlas walks over and pats our dragon friend's head. "You're way too nice to turn evil without a curse!"

Mal blushes.

Arella walks over and gives him a hug as does Mae. They both kiss him on the cheek at the same time. "We missed you, Mal."

He blushes.

I try not to feel too jealous.

"Um … hi?" Terra comes over and shyly waves a hand in his face. "I'm Terra."

"Hi. I'm Malchior. My friends call me Mal."

"I'm pleased to meet you." She smiles at him. "So … what's it like being a dragon?"

"Normally, pretty good." Mal smiles at her and scuffs his foot on the floor. "Right now, I want to just change back to my real form and go flying ..."

"That sounds cool!" Terra is very enthusiastic about it. "Let's go!" She grabs his hand.

"Um, guys?" Beast Boy says in a hesitant tone of voice. "Believe me, I know how much fun flying is, but I don't think Jump City is quite ready to see a giant dragon flying around in broad daylight. Maybe we can postpone that till tonight?"

"Oh yeah. I guess that makes sense." Mal rubs a hand through his hair. "I guess if flying is out, I am pretty hungry."

"What do you eat?"

"Um … this is going to kind of sound silly."

"Dude, you're a dragon in the shape of a guy who used to be an evil dragon. I don't think there's too much you can stay that's going to top that."

"Well... I do eat coal. For my fire. Beyond that … well I'm a vegetarian."

"Really?" Beast Boy's eyes go so wide that I'm almost positive he's shape shifting.

"Yes. Just not a fan of killing things for food, you know?"

"Dude!" Beast Boy puts an arm around his neck. "We are going to be such great buds! Let me introduce you to the modern miracle that is Tofu!"

I watch in amusement as Beast Boy drags Mal away.

Terra scowls.

"You could go with them," I suggest. "I'm sure there's something in the kitchen that isn't tofu."

"If you're sure-"

"Go ahead."

"Guys! Wait up! I'm hungry too!" She races after them.

"I'm feeling a little hungry myself," Cyborg mutters. "Maybe some pancakes ..."

"Um, Cyborg?" Atlas doesn't really have the facial features to look embarrassed, but his voice give him away.

"Yeah, Atlas? You want a rematch?!" Cyborg grins at him.

"No. It's not that. It's just … when I was … cursed … I hurt my friend Spike. I treated him horribly. I want to apologize to him- but I have to find him first."

"I get you. Come on, then. Let's see what you and I can turn up on the internet."

"Thanks."

The two metallic figures lumber off.

"Robin ..." Starfire murmurs suddenly. "Why don't you and I show the Mae-Eye around the Tower."

"She's been here before ..."

"And they call him a detective," Raven whispers to her mother.

"Oh, I would love for a tour of the Tower," Mae-Eye says in far too loud a voice to be realistic. "Why don't you show me around the Tower … Robin and Starfire. That would be lovely."

"Oh? Oh!" Robin says as the light finally dawns in his eyes. "Right. Come on, ladies. Let's go. I'm sure you'd love to try out our training room, Mae ..."

"I'm sure I would," Mae says with absolutely fake enthusiasm.

We watch them leave.

"Well, that was convenient," Raven observed. She's still holding Rorek's spell-book "What do you suppose that was all about?"

"I'm sure our friends just wanted to give us some space," Arella reaches out to Raven and lightly touches her cheek. "You've grown so much since I saw you last ..."

"That tends to happen, Mother." Even so, Raven leans into her mother's touch. "I missed you. Even when we were on Azarath together, I missed you."

"I missed you too, Raven. More than you can ever imagine." She hugs our daughter closer and reaches out with her free arm. "Trig."

I know what she wants and reach forth to embrace my family.

It feels good.

"So what do we do now?" Raven asks. "We've saved your friends, and Mom isn't dead, and we're a family again- not the most functional one around, but we are a family."

"I've been waiting to ask your father that same question."

"Atlas wants to find his friend Spike. I imagine that could take some time."

"Some," Arella admits. Her eyes don't leave my face. "And after that-"

I sigh. I don't imagine either of them are going to like what's on my mind.

"Father?" Raven asks, looking up at me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, my daughter. It's just ..." I sigh again. "I helped my friends, but there's something else I have to do, and I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish it."

"What?" Raven asks.

"My world. Somehow … some way … I have to restore my world back to normal."

I sigh again.

"Or die trying."


End file.
